Fruit pitter



Dec. 16, 1930. A. R. THOMPSON FRUIT PITTER Filed Oct. 14, 1925 PatentedDec. 16, 1930 UNITED STA-TES PATENT OFFICE ALBERT R. THOMPSON, F S'AN J'OSE, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR, BY IESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO PACIFIC MACHINERY COMPANY, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORA-TION 0F CALIFORNIA FRUIT PITTEB Application led October 14, 1925. SerialNo. 82,377.

This invention relates r to a fruit pitter adapted to remove pits orstones from fruit such as clingstone caches or the like.

The primary ob]ect of this invention is to provide a fruit pitteradapted to remove the pits or stones from the fruit efficiently andeconomically. It is desired that the pitter should remove the stone orpit from the fruit with a minimum loss of flesh of the fruit, and

by producing a uniform cut in the flesh of the fruit. Heretofore thishas been attempted in pitting devices by either having the fruit cutthrough the pit prior to Severing the pit from the fruit, or by removingan annular slice of the iiesh of the fruit to gain access to the pit.The present invention contemplates'cleaving the flesh of lthe fruitwithout removing a slice, expanding the cleft in the flesh of the fruit,and operating the cleft to sever the pit intact from the flesh of thefruit.

The invention is preferably embodied in a unit or device providing aslotted blade upon which the fruit may be impaled with the intact pitpositioned in the slot to engage a revolvable pitting knife mounted atthe back of the slot with the axis of the pitting knife normal to theaxis of the slot and in the plane of the blade.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of examplein the aecompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the pitter unit.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the unit illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on a line 3-3 in Fig. 1.

ig. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration showing the progress of the fruitas the same is impaled on'the blade of theunit with the pit or stoneentering-the slot between the bifurcations of the blade. i

Fig. 5 corresponds to-Fig. 4 and shows the fruit impaled upon the bladeof the unit with the pit or stone ositioned adjacent the pitting knifeimmediately prior to the sever# ing of the pit or stone from the fleshof the fruit.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view looking 5 down upon the fruit as impaledon the blade priorto the severing of the pit, and also showing meansthat may be employed if desired to maintain the fruit upon the blade fwhile the last half of the flesh of the fruit is being severed from thepit.

Fig. 7 is a 4diagrammatlc View corresponding to Fig. 6, illustrating thesevering of the rst half of the fruit. I

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the fruit as pitted.

In the drawings, 1 indicates a slotted impaling blade providingbifurcations 2. Each ifurcation 2 is sharpened to'provide knife edges 3and 4. A revolvable pitting knife 5 is mounted at the back of the slotof the impaling blade 1. Opposite ends of the knife 5 are journaled inbearings 6- formed o n the bifurcations 2. The bear-ings'6 provide anexpansion of theblade 1 at the end of the slot in which the pittingknife 5 is mounted. The unit above described is adapted for embodimentas a single pitting device, or a plurality of such units may beincorporated in a pitting machine within the contemplation of thepresent invention. The pitting knife 5 ma.l be turned by any desiredmeans, for examp e by a crank 7. The unit may be mounted u on a supportas desired, for example by t e' conventional clamp 8. Means may beprovided for maintaining the fruit upon the impaling blade 1 after theesh of the first half of the fruit has been severed from the pit, forexample by a hinged cup 9. In operation the fruit ma be impaled upon theblade 1, as illustrate in Fig. 4, by forcin the stem end of the fruitagainst the front nife edges 3 of the bifurcations 2, so4 that the pitor stone is received within the slot of the blade 1. The fruit should beforced upon the blade 1' until the pit or stone contacts with thepitting blade 5, andshould then be turned through an arc of 90 degreesto complete the annular cleft in the flesh of the fruit. The bearings 6for the knife 5 should be chamfered as at '10 to a thicknesscorresponding to the width of the pitting knife 5', and function toexpand the cleft produced in the flesh of the fruit by the bifurcations2,of the blade 1 suiciently to permit the pitting knife 5 to passthrough the cleft and 100 normal to the axis of the slot an in the planeof the blade, the fruit may be impaled upon the blade 1 'as abovedescribed, un'tll the pit or stone of the fruit contacts with the knife5, thereby assuredly determining that the pit or stone is inthe properposition for the ac tion of the pitting knife. The pittin knife 5 isthen turned and severs the first alf of the flesh of the fruit from thepit, and the continued revolution of the pitting knife 5 then severs thesecond half of the flesh of the fruit from the pit. During the severingof the second half of the flesh of the fruit from the pit, the sameshould be maintained manually or mechanically positioned on the impalingblade 1, and the cu 9 may be employed for that purpose, as i ustrated inFi 7. Upon the completion of the revolution o? the pitting knife 5 thepit or stone has been severed from the halved iesh of the fruit, asillustrated in Fi 8. The halved sections of the flesh of the ruit andthe pit may be held during the pittin operation and after as desired, ormay be a lowed to fall from the blade as the pittin progresses. The`width of the slot in the b ade 1 may be restricted to the narrowdiameter of the it to provide additional su port for the iles of thefruit during the revolrlltion of the pitting knife 5.

In operation the present invention serves to halve the flesh of thefruit and sever the it without removing any of the flesh of the ruit,'excepting that immediately adhering to the pit. By aligning the naturalseam of the fruit at the stem end with the front edges of thebifurcations 2 and forcing the fruit upon the impaler blade until the itor stone contacts in position with the pitting knife 5, the pittingoperation is centered by the pit or stone, and not merely by theexterior a pearance of the fruit. This avoids the di culty ex riencedwith prior machines in which t e pitting operation is centered by theexterior appearance of the fruit that arises because of the pitoccupying varying and uncertain positions in the fruit.

The pitting knife 5 may be made of 'a radius corre onding to the depthof cut desired in the iesh of the fruit, and a uniform Acut is assured.The invention may be adapted to fruit having pits o r stones of varyingsizes and shapes by selecting the proper contour for the pitting knife5.

The embodiment of the'invention herein described is adapted particularlyfor clingstone fruit wherein the stone must be severed from the fruit.The pitting knife may be omitted and the impaling blade embodying theinvention serve as a highly elcient device for pitting freestone fruit.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment above set forth forpurposes of illus tration, for the invention is susceptible of varyingembodiments and of the full scope defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a fruit pitter, impaling means for cleaving the flesh of thefruitand leaving the pit intact, pitting means on said impaling means and adated to pass around the intact pit .and sever Ythe same from the flesh ofthe fruit, and means for maintainin the second half of the fruit on theblade a r the first half of the fruit has been severed from the plt.

2. In a fruit pitter, im alin means for severing the iiesh of the frultto t e intact pit, pitting means supported by the impaling means, meansadapted to engage the exterior of the fruit or maintaining the fruit onthe impaling means during the operation of the pitting means, and meansfor actuating the pitting means to ass the same around the intact pitand sever t e fruit from the pit.

3. In a fruit pitter, im aling means for severing the iles of the it andleaving the it intact, means for supporting the fruit on t e impalingmeans from the exterior of the fruit, pittin means supported by theimpaling blade an adapted to ass around the intact pit and sever thesame om the flesh of thesfruiatd Lo An C ign at s goles, alif., this 8thda of October, 1925. y

ALBERT R. THOMPSON.'

